The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-08-21
GREEK LETTER SOCIETIES.
The Ones Which Find Favor in Colleges
for Girls.

The Ones Which Find Favor in Colleges
for Girls.
NEW York, Aug. 20.--When the aspiring
ton the first university honor that he Graves
is an election to one of the college fraterni-
ties. If he is Bostonian, his father, his
brother or his cousin before him belonged to
Psi u. if he is a Providence man his chums
are reckoned in with Zeta Psi; if he is a
New Yorker he affiiiates naturally with Beta
Theta Pi, Delta Kappa Epsilon, Chi Phi or
Chi Psi. In some of the younger Western
institutions the Greek letter society, bring
ing its members as it does into relations
with the Oldest and richest colleges in the
country, must seem at times more powerful
almost than Alma Mater herself; certainly
by students and alumni it is often better be-
loved. There are thirty-three such frater-
mites at present existing among the men of
the American colleges. The chapter houses
are not infrequently among the finest
buildings on the campus Each society, as
a rule, has its badge, which is conspicuously
worn, its publications, its songs, its ban
quets and its conventions That a similar
state of affairs is growing up in the womens
colleges, that girls Greek letter fraternities
not only exist, but are multiplying, is fact
not so generally known.
From an priori point of view there is no
reason why the fraternity idea should not
commend itself to girl students and many
reasons why it naturally would. For one
thing the mems societies in a coeducational
college exclude the women students. The
locked door of the fraternity rooms is per-
petual challenge to retaliation. That talk
of initiation ordeals, hints of passwords,
notices, grips and recognition signs should
be as it We're in the air around them, tokens
of mysteries always to.tantalize them, never
to be revealed, would rouse emulation in a
more passive creature than the average
college girl 1t was as a matter of course,
in the colleges which admit men and women
both that the womens Greek letter societies
originated, and it is in them that the sister
hoods have chiefly fiourished Repeated
efforts have been made to establish a chapter
of this order or that at Vassar, but no
fiedgling has ever proved strong enough to
withstand the faculty's frown. Wellesley
has had secret societies at one time and
permanent institutions. The new womens
college at Bryn Mawr has a local society
which may or may not gather strength
with age. Cornell, Syracuse University,
Boston University, ST. Lawrence in the
northern part of this state, Ann Arbor,
Kansas University, Northwestern
University and the host of Western CO.
educational schools are the homes of the
women's Greek letter societies. No one of
these organizations is old enough-the senior
society recl1ons barely seventeen years-to
count any large number of prominent
alumnae, but several have creditable list
of women who are known and more who
are doing good work, though they may not
be before the public. The number of
sororities at present organized with princi-
pies and methods akin to the Greek letter
fraternities is seven. About fifty active
chapters are known, and a conservative
estimate of the membership would put it
between 1000 and 5000
The oldest society is Kappa Alpha Theta,
started at Asbury University, now De Paw
University, Greencastle, Ind, Jan. "a, 1870
The largest society is Kappa
Kappa Gamma, which has nineteen
chapters and whose membership
Is something above a thousand. The
richest society is probably Alpha Phi, whose
Alpha Chapter at Syracuse University has
erected this year beautiful chapter house,
the only building of the sort, SO far as the
writer is aware, thus far owned by any of
the ladies' societies.
Among the regular members of the
sororities Kappa Alpha Theta has upon its
books President Alice Freeman, just re-
signed from Wellesley College, who was
initiated into Eta Chapter during her
student life at Ann Arbor; Miss Katharine.
Conan, Professor of History at the same
school, and other women holding high
positions at De PAW University and Iowa
Wesleyan. Mrs. Mary A. Livermore and
Mrs. Julia Ward Howe have accepted honor
airy membership in Kappa Kappa Gamma,
and the former at least wears sometimes the
badge of the order, unique and pretty
jeweed key Mrs. Rutherford b. Hayes
also belongs to the Kappas, Miss Frances Z.
Willard, well known in temperance circles,
belongs to Alpha Phi.
The women's societies by name, furnished
me by Mr.. William Raymond Baird, whose
book upon college fraternities, new edition
of which is now in preparation, is the main
authority on the subject, are as follows:
Sigma Kappa was organized at Colby
University in 1874 1t has but one chapter.
Alpha Beta Tau has two chapters, one at
the Mississippi State University, the other
at the Oxford, Miss, Female Institute.
Alpha Phi, though it has but three chap
ters, is one of the strongest of the fraternities
being very securely entrenched at Syracuse
University, where it was founded in 1872.
IL has some wealthy women among its
alumnae who have the interests of Chapter
Alpha, now numbering perhaps $50 mem
bers, at heart. Beta chapter is at the
Northwestern University, Evanston, ILL.,,
and Eta Chapter has been placed at Boston
gram and the colors silver-gray and Bor-
deaux. Delta Gamma has ten active and two
inactive chapters, all i'll the West and
South 1t is rapidly growing fraternity
and holds biennial conventions. The badge
is a golden anchor and the organ of the
society is quarterly magazine called the
Delta Gamma AnchOra. A chapter was
maintained at St. Lawrence University.
Canton, N. Y, until recently. Gamma
phi Rata hae tbroo chaptar-s IL was founded
at Syracuse University in 1874 and Bishop
Haven gave it its motto. It's other chapters
are at Ann Arbor and Northwestern Uni
versity. It's badge is gold monogram
and its colors light and dark brown.
Kappa Alpha Theta aud Kappa Kappa
Gamma, founded in the same year and
already referred TO as the oldest and largest,
respectively, OF the womens fraternities,
have long been rivals. The planting of Eta
Chapter by the senior society at Ann Arbor,
the first feminine association TO get foot
hold Iva fhar tf1tiyafssity was considered "A